Pouring device for containers



June 24, 1958 E. OSTERMANN POURING DEVICE FOR CONTAINERS l Filed June16. 1954 M f: v F1641 f n "a .v I

POURKNG DEVICE FOR CONTAINERS Enst Ostermann, Baarn, NetherlandsApplication June 16, 1954, Serial No. 437,195

Claims priority, application Germany June 19, 1953 3 Claims. (Cl.222-484) The present invention relates to a pouring device forcontainers such as casks and canisters, and more particularly for fuelcans.

The heretofore known spouts of casks and cans have simple screw or hingecovers and emptying of such containers without auxiliary means such asfunnels, or for example in connection with fuel cans without aseparately carried spout tube is practically impossible. In many casesit is not possible for one man alone to empty a container andsubstantial volumes of liquid are ordinarily wasted. Moreover, it isknown from experience that ordinarily such auxiliary means are not athand when they are necessitated.

It is a prime object of the present invention to provide a pouringdevice which avoids the afore-described disadvantages.

For this purpose the pouring device according to the invention ischaracterized by a spout tube slidably arranged'in longitudinaldirection in the opening of the container, which spout tube in its restposition, in which it is retractedin the container, has its upper enddisposed in a mouthpiece closable by a cover.

Preferably the spout tube is tightened in its pulled out position bymeans of a flange provided at the lower end of the tube and pressedagainst a packing arranged atthe inside of the opening of the container,while in its retracted position the spout tube, which projects only to asmall extent beyond the opening in the container is closed by a coveracting upon another packing surface for tightly closing the mouthpiece.r

The packing surfaces for the flange of the spout tube, for thewall ofthe tube and for the cover are preferably arranged on one packing ring,which in cross-section forms an U having one shortened leg.

In order to obtain a continuous emptying of the container means must beprovided to permit entering of a continuous air stream into thecontainer in order to replace the discharged liquid during the emptyingoperation. For this purpose an air pipe may be provided either at theoutside or within the spout tube. Preferably such an air pipe has itsend projecting into the container bent into a direction opposite thedirection into which the container is inclined to be emptied. 7

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe description, now to follow, of two preferred embodiments thereof, inwhich reference will be had to the'accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a partly sectional View of a first embodiment, and

Fig. 2 is a partly sectional view of the second embodiment.

In the embodiment represented in Fig. 1 reference numeral 2 designatesan annual mouthpiece tightly secured to the container by a welding seamor like means over an opening 3 provided in the wall of the container 1.This mouthpiece 2 is recessed as at 5 forming a shoulder adapted toreceive and retain a flange 6 provided at the nited States Patent 0lower end of a tubular spout 7, which is axially slidable in saidmouthpiece 2. In the working'position of the spout 7, i. e. when it iscompletely pulled out the flange 6 bears against the portion 8 of arubber packing 11. p The portion 9 of the same packing 11- serves totighten the slidable spout 7 with respect to the opening in themouthpiece 2, while the portion 10 of still the same packing .11 formsthe tightening surfacefor a screw cap 12. Reference numeral 13designates a wire stirrup engaging with its two short bend ends 13a twoopenings 14 provided in the upper end of the spout 7. In order to permitcontinuous emptying of the container 1 through the spout 7, meansmust beprovided through which a continuous air stream may enter the containerto replace the discharged liquid. For this purpose there is provided anair pipe 15, which in the embodiment illustrated in Fig.1 is arranged atthe outside of the spout 7. This air pipe 15, which has its one endprojecting through the opening 3 into the .container 1 is bent as at 16to run substantially parallel with the upper wall of the container, inorder to prevent the liquid contained in the container to leave thelatter through the air pipe when the liquid level moves or when thecontainer is inclined to be emptied. The portion of the air pipe 15situated at the outside of the container 1 ends in the tighteningsurface 10 of the rubber packing 11, provided for the screw cap 12. Asis clearly visible from Fig. 1 the rubber packing 11 provides thetightening surfaces for the flange 6 of the spout as well as also forthe screw cap 12 closing the mouthpiece. At the same time the cap 12screwed into the mouthpiece 2 closes with its lower surface resting onthe tightening surface 10 the upper end of the air pipe 15. v Of courseit is possible to close the container 1 by means of a hinge coverinstead of with a screw cap. Such a hinge cover may for example be heldin its closing positionby a device similar to a lever-operated'bottlestopper. As the opening of the container must to a certain extent guidethe spout 7 and as moreover sharp edges and corners should be avoided anarrangement in which the opening in the container corresponds to'ztheouter diameter of the spout is not advisable. The arrangement shown inFig. 1, with a mouthpiece 2, which may be formed by a casting,.arrangedon the somewhat larger opening 3 in the container 1 and containing theaforesaid tightening surfaces, is by farpreferable. i

Owing to the friction between the outer wall of the spout 7 and therubber packing 11 it is usually not necessary to provide locking meansfor locking the spout in its tWo end positions of the spout. If forreasons'of manufacture or owing to long use this friction should becomeinsufiicient this is not necessarily a disadvantage as the spout isdrawn out and retained in the pulled out position by its proper weightwhen the container is inclined to be emptied; Of course spring meanscould be provided in order to secure the spout in the two end positions;Such spring means could for example be a snap spring co-operating withrecesses provided 'in the spout. Fig. 2 illustrates a second embodimentof the invention in connection with a fuel canister.

Fuel cans for liquid fuels must meet various requirements. In additionto easy handling it must be possible to store and stack them underoptimum use of the available space for example on trucks or the like.For this purpose they are preferably given a parallelepipedic form. Thespouts provided on the canisters must be such, that the parallelepipedicform of the complete can, which permits the space-saving stacking, ismaintained. The use of separate spout tubes, which are not fixed on thecanisters is not recommendable for practical reasons, as it is knownfrom experience that a separate spout is usually not at hand when it isnecessitated.

g Fj 2,840,281

so that a continuous air stream can enter the can during emptying of thelatter in order to replace the discharged liquid and enable, acontinuous emptying.

The canister illustrated on Fig. 2 is designated by refer: ence numeral20 and comprises afimouthpiece 21 tightly secured; to the canister by,welding or brazing as at 22. As in the first embodiment the spout tubedesignatedby reference 23 in Fig.2 is axially slidable inthe' opening ofthe mouthpiece between two end positions. corresponding to the workingand rest position, respectively. When the spout 23 is shifted from oneend position into, its other end position it is guided in a packing ring24 retained in its position at the mouthpiece by a screw: ring" 25. Asis clearly visible from Fig. 2 the "simple construction permits easyreplacement of the packing ring'24 and of the spout tube 23. In thepulled out position the spout 23 is pressed with its flatige126. againstthe lower surface of the packing ring 24. It is releasably retained inthis position by a spring stop '28 secured to the lower end of the spout23 and cooperating with an annular groove 27 provided on the lower endof the mouthpiece.

The mouthpiece is in this embodiment again closed by a screw cap 29provided with an interchangeable packing ring 30. The cover 29 isconnected over a chain 3 1 with the handle 32 of the canister 20 so thatit cannot be lost. In order to guaranteein this embodiment thecontinuous arrival of air to replace the discharged liquid in-thecontainer an air pipe 33 is welded at the interior of the spout tube 23.a t j 1 The openings 14 in the upper end of the spout tube, in additionto their functionof holding the bail 13 or 34, also serve to permit theliquid in the mouthpiece to return into the can. Likewise the lower endof thespout tube may be provided with openings, one of which is shown at35 in Fig. 2 permitting, a complete emptying of the canister.

Although have shown and described particular embodiments of my improvedpouring device for containers, I do not desire the invention to belimited to the particular arrangements disclosed, and I intend in theappended claims to cover all modifications which do not depart from thespirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a container having an opening therein, a pouring device comprisinga mouthpiece tightly secured to said container around said opening, aremovable cover adapted to close said mouthpiece, packing means in saidmouthpiece surrounding said opening, a spout tube slidable in saidpacking means having a plurality of holes therein adjacent each endthereof, stop means on the inner end of said spout tube, said stop meansbearing directly on said packing means when said tube is in the extendedposition, a bail on the outer end of said spout tube, resiliently heldin two of said plurality of holes so that it lies against the outside ofsaid tube and is positioned to act as stop means at the outer end ofsaid tube, and an air pipe having one end within said container bent ina direction opposite to the direction of pouring and the other endopening out of the container through said mouthpiece.

2. A pouring device as claimed in claim 1 in which said mouthpiececomprises an internally threaded portion and an outwardly flangedportion by which said mouthpiece is attached to said container, and saidpacking means comprises a resilient packing ring the internal diameterof which is less than the diameter of the opening in said container andwhich engages said spout tube, and a screw ring threaded into saidmouthpiece to hold said packing ring against said inwardly flangedportion of said mouthpiece.

As in the first embodiment the upper end of the spout islprovidedwith awire stirrup-34 facilitating the pulling out of the spout tube and atthe same time forming the lower abutment for the spout, in its restposition.

In both described embodiments a short portion of the spout projects inthe rest position of the latter, beyond the container so that it mayeasily be seized. However, the provision of the wire stirrup 13 and 34,respectively, substantially facilitates the pulling out of the spout. In

order to prevent that the stirrup hinders the emptying operation byfalling into the liquid stream leaving the spout, it is preferably ofsuch dimensions that owing to its proper elasticity and in co-operationwith the elasticity of the spout tube it is resiliently pressed againstthe wall of the spout tube and retained in the position shown in Fig.1." I W yIn both described embodiments the spout is formed by a slightlycurved tube. This curved form facilitates the handling and the emptyingoperation, but of course the spout could also be constituted byastraight tube without substantial disadvantages resulting therefrom.- Il I a In its rest position thespout tubehas a substantial portion of itslength dipped into the liquid contained in the container. Owing to theprovided packings the spout contains in its upper portion-a closedvolume of air, which has an advantageous damping efiect onto the liquidmovements. a

3. A pouring device as claimed in claim 1 in which said mouthpiece hasan outwardly facing threaded recess therein adapted to receive saidcover, an inwardly facing recess adapted to receive the stop means onthe inner end of said spout tube, and a spout tube aperture between saidrecesses, and said packing means comprise a packing ring extending alongthe bottom of said cover receiving recess through said spout tubereceiving aperture and along the bottom of the stop means receivingrecess, and said air tube extends through said mouthpiece into thebottom of said cover receiving recess through the packinglring thereonand terminates at the surface of said packing ring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS483,082 Payne Sept. 20, 1892 1,140,295 Tamango May 18, 1915 1,437,197 IRedifer et al. Nov. 28, 1922 1,456,445 Hooper May 22, 1923 1,836,729Rollason Dec. 15, 1931 1,947,915 Marschall Feb. 20, 1934 2,093,807 Emeryet al. Sept. 21, 1937 2,120,592 Leonhart June 14, 1938 2,519,705, RutherAug. 22, 1950 2,545,178: Vaughn Mar. 13, 1951 2,680,541 Mack June 8,1954 2,774,523 Rieke Dec. 18, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 22,817 Great BritainSept. 29,

